Crossword vs Best Cryptic Crosswords
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Crossword
Engage with a vast collection of American-style crosswords, featuring adjustable grid sizes and difficulty levels. Enjoy unlimited on-the-fly generated puzzles and utilize helpful tools like validation and a built-in solver. Supports multiple languages and spelling preferences for a personalized experience.
- Adjustable grid zoom and movement
- Multiple grid sizes and difficulty levels
- On-the-fly grid generation for unlimited play
- Thousands of straight and general knowledge clues
- US/UK English spelling options
- Built-in crossword solver and hints
- Crosswords in French, German, and Dutch
Read full descriptionHide full description
Play a large range of crosswords. All use the usual American style grids, such as is used in the NY Times, USA Today and many other newspapers Note that all the answers and clues use US English spellings, and that the general knowledge clues are tailored for US players. Features: • You can zoom in & out of the grid, and move around, making it possible to play larger grids even on smaller screens • There is a large range of built in grids, from sizes 11x11, 13x13 and 15x15 at different difficulty levels. Most have just 16% black squares, per the standard definition • In addition a new grid of sizes up to 8x8 can be generated on-the-fly by the app, meaning unlimited games to play • Many 1000's of clues, both straight and general knowledge • Choose between US or UK English spellings • General knowledge questions tailored to your country (currently US, UK, Australia and Canada) • Ability to save and reload games, so several games can be played at the same time • Numerous aids in case you get stuck, e.g. validate word/letter, reveal word and even a built-in crossword solver to show potential matches • Easily flip between different crosswords, just like a crossword puzzle book • Also includes crosswords in French, German and Dutch
Best Cryptic Crosswords
Engage with 300 professionally crafted cryptic crosswords designed for accessibility. Enjoy a smooth puzzle experience on your devices with features like zooming, landscape mode, and helpful tools.
- 300 professional cryptic crosswords
- 12 free puzzles
- Pinch and zooming grid
- Landscape mode with clue list
- Cheats and answer checking
- British style puzzles
Read full descriptionHide full description
300 professional cryptic crosswords puzzles set by Michael Curl from www.bestforpuzzles.com. 12 free puzzles with all features enabled and no ads. These are accessible cryptic puzzles set by a top setter. Features: - great for iPads and iPhones - pinch and zooming grid - landscape mode with clue list - cheats and answer checking - Resume button - British style puzzles - no ads - great value
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Best Cryptic Crosswords at none against Crossword's shown. Best Cryptic Crosswords also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.4) and review sentiment (83% vs 70%). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Crossword sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per year and Best Cryptic Crosswords sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Best Cryptic Crosswords holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 153 and 316 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 70% of Crossword's written reviews are positive against 83% of Best Cryptic Crosswords's.
Crossword ships an update every 5 months, Best Cryptic Crosswords every 7 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 11, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Crossword | Best Cryptic Crosswords |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (153 ratings) | 4.8 (316 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 70.0% of reviews | 83.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 153 | 316 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months — better | Every 7 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 | 10.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 101 MB | 7 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Havos | Teazel |
Customer experience
Crossword
Best Cryptic Crosswords
Bugs and requests
Crossword
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Best Cryptic Crosswords
Reported bugs
3 issues- Purchases disappearing after device change
- App crashing issues
- Anticipatory cursor movement causing unintended letter changes
Requested features
4 requests- Clue explanation feature
- More varied and challenging clues
- Ability to track completed clues
- Regular updates with new puzzle packs
In-app purchases
Crossword
- Supporter (no ads)$4.991 Year
- Stack of 1300 Coins$0.99
- Stack of 3000 Coins$1.99
- Stack of 8000 coins$3.99
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- Stack of 20000 Coins$9.99
Best Cryptic Crosswords
- pack of cryptic crosswords$0.99
- pack of Cryptic Crosswords5 variants$0.99
- get all 6 cryptic packs$3.99
Questions
Is Crossword free?
Is Best Cryptic Crosswords free?
Which has better reviews, Crossword or Best Cryptic Crosswords?
Do Crossword or Best Cryptic Crosswords have ads?
Which is updated more often, Crossword or Best Cryptic Crosswords?
Other comparisons
